Battery cell having a plurality of electrodes and battery module using the same

ABSTRACT

Provided a battery cell having a plurality of electrodes and a battery module using the same. In order to configure the battery module only by connections of the electrodes without including a separate bus bar and improve the degree of freedom of the connections, the battery cell having cathode terminals and anode terminals protruding to the outside includes: a plurality of electrode terminals selected from the cathode terminals or the anode terminals and formed on both sides of the battery cell opposing each other. The battery cell having the plurality of electrodes and the battery module formed is various forms according to a layout of a vehicle using the same may be configured.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2018-0070373, filed on Jun. 19, 2018, and KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2019-0072890, filed on Jun. 19, 2019, in theKorean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The following disclosure relates to a battery cell having a plurality ofelectrodes and a battery module using the same, and more particularly,to a battery module in which a plurality of electrodes are formed onboth side ends of a secondary battery.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, a secondary battery capable of being charged anddischarged has been spotlighted as a power source of an electric vehicle(EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (REV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle(P-HEV), or the like that has been suggested as a countermeasure forsolving air pollution from an existing gasoline vehicle, diesel vehicle,or the like, using fossil fuel. Unlike small mobile devices, middle orlarge sized battery modules in which a large number of battery cells areconnected to each other in accordance with the need for a high outputand large capacity have been used in middle or large sized devices suchas automobiles, and in the case of configuring various devices byapplying such middle or large sized battery modules, an electricalconnection structure between the unit battery modules is an importantfactor that whether or not it is applied is determined according to astructure of the device. For example, in a case in which a plurality ofcell packs are mounted in a limited space of a platform of an electricvehicle in consideration of the electrical connection structure, thereis a problem in that it is necessary to add additional parts or change astructure of a battery module coupling according to positionalcharacteristics of electrode terminals of the respective batterymodules.

In addition, there is a problem that a separate bus bar is often usedwhen the battery modules are coupled according to the restriction of thepositions of a positive terminal and a negative terminal which are finalterminals of the battery module. If whether or not the bus bar iscoupled is applied differently depending on the device structure inwhich the battery module is mounted and applied, not only productivityof the battery module assembly may be reduced but also an operationperformance and driving reliability of various devices to which thebattery module is to be applied are greatly affected. In addition,considering a recent trend that the field of application of thesecondary battery is diversified, the necessity of improving the degreeof freedom of design by the electrical connection of the battery moduleis increasing more and more.

Accordingly, in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2014-0072698(battery module assembly, Jun. 13, 2014), terminal portions are formedon both side ends of a bus bar applied to a battery module configured bystacking pouch-type secondary batteries having cathode and anodeterminals protruding from both sides thereof to improve the conventionalbus bar, thereby improving the degree of freedom of design of aconnection of a plurality of battery modules. However, in theabove-mentioned document, the conventional problem, of providing aseparate bus bar for interconnecting the cathode and anode cells inconstructing the battery module using the secondary battery having theelectrodes formed one by one on both sides is not solved. In the case ofthe conventional battery module constituting the module by connectingthe electrodes through the bus bar, a process such as welding accordingto a configuration of the bus bar is further required, resistance of thebus bar is increased, thereby reducing efficiency of the battery, and aquality control becomes difficult.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in Korean PatentLaid-Open Publication No. 10-2014-0058058 (battery module, May 14,2014), a cathode tab and an anode tab of a battery cell protrudingoutwardly are cut to connect a plurality of stacked battery modules onlyby the connection of the cut electrodes. However, since the battery cellin the above-mentioned document has the cathode tap and the anode tapformed only in one direction, there is a limit to the scalability ofconnecting a plurality of unit modules, and one cathode tab and oneanode tab are cut to form a pair of cutting portions, thereby causing astructural limitation that electrodes having the same polarity should beformed to be adjacent to each other.

As such, in the conventional secondary battery, one cathode electrode oranode electrode is formed on both sides facing each other, or thecathode electrode and the anode electrode are formed on one side facingthe same direction. Therefore, when the cells are connected in serieswith or in parallel to each other, the configuration of the batterymodule is limited and it is difficult to apply the battery module tovarious configurations according to a layout of the vehicle.

In addition, a battery module of a high-efficiency, large-capacityelectric vehicle recently requires a 2P12S module formed by connectingtwo cells in parallel to each other and connecting 12 sets of a pair ofcells connected in parallel to each other in series with each other.Such a battery module is provided by stacking batteries having oneelectrode formed on opposite sides thereof in one direction, and needsto additionally include a separate bus bar so that the pair of cellsconnected in parallel to each other is connected in series with theother pair of adjacent cells. As such, if the bus bar is additionallyincluded, problems are caused that energy efficiency of the batterymodule is deteriorated due to an increase in unnecessary contactresistance between the electrodes and a process quality of the batterymodule is deteriorated because a consistent work process for connectingthe batteries is not performed.

RELATED ART DOCUMENT Patent Document

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2014-0072698 (battery moduleassembly, Jun. 13, 2014)

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2014-0058058 (battery module,May 14, 2014)

SUMMARY

An embodiment of the present invention is directed to providing abattery cell having a plurality of electrodes that constitutes thebattery module only by connections of electrodes without including aseparate bus bar and improves the degree of freedom of the connection,and a battery module using the same.

In one general aspect, a battery cell having a plurality of electrodesand a battery module using the same are provided, and more particularly,a battery cell having electrode terminals including cathode terminalsand anode terminals protruding to the outside includes a plurality ofelectrode terminals selected from, the cathode terminals or the anodeterminals and formed on both sides of the battery cell opposing eachother.

The battery cell may have a plurality of cathode terminals or anodeterminals formed to be adjacent to each other on both sides of thebattery cell opposing each other, respectively, and having the samepolarity.

The battery cell may have a pair of cathode terminals or anode terminalsformed to be adjacent to each other on both sides of the battery cellopposing each other, respectively, and having different polarities.

The cathode terminals and the anode terminals formed on both sides ofthe battery ceil opposing each other may be disposed to have differentpolarities in a length direction of the battery cell.

The cathode terminals and the anode terminals formed on both sides ofthe battery cell opposing each other may be disposed to have the samepolarity in a length direction of the batter cell.

The battery cell may have a pair of cathode terminals or anode terminalsformed to be adjacent to each other on one side of the battery cell andhaving the same polarity, and have a pair of cathode terminals or anodeterminals formed to be adjacent to each other on the other side opposingthe one side and having different polarities.

In another aspect, the battery module is formed by stacking two or morebattery cells, and the cathode terminals or the anode terminals adjacentto at least two or more battery cells are electrically connected to eachother, wherein the battery cell may be a pouch-type secondary battery.

A plurality of cathode terminals or anode terminals having the samepolarity may be formed to be adjacent to each other on both sides of thebattery cells opposing each other, respectively, such that the numberthe groups of the plurality of battery cells connected in parallel toeach other may be plural and the groups of the plurality of batterycells connected in parallel to each other may be connected in serieswith each other.

A plurality of battery cells having the pair of cathode terminals oranode terminals formed to be adjacent to each other on both sides of thebattery cells opposing each other, respectively, and having the samepolarity, and connected in parallel to each other may be connected inseries with the other pair of battery cells having the pair of cathodeterminals and anode terminals formed to be adjacent to each other onboth sides of the battery cells opposing each other, respectively,having different polarities, and disposed to have different polaritiesin the length direction, and connected in parallel to each other.

The pair of cathode terminals or anode terminals having the samepolarity as each other may be formed to be adjacent to each other on oneside of the battery cells and the pair of cathode terminals or anodeterminals having different polarities may be formed to be adjacent toeach other on the other side opposing the one side, such that the numberthe groups of the plurality of battery cells connected in parallel toeach other may be plural and the groups of the plurality of batterycells connected in parallel to each other may be connected in serieswith each other.

The battery module may include: a battery cell having the pair ofcathode terminals or anode terminals formed to be adjacent to each otheron both sides of the battery cell opposing each other and having thesame polarity; and a pair of battery cells stacked on both sides of thebattery cell in forward and backward directions, connected in parallelto the battery cell, and having the pair of cathode terminals or anodeterminals formed to be adjacent to each other on one side of the batterycell and having the same polarity, and the pair of cathode terminals oranode terminals formed to be adjacent to each other on the other sideopposing the one side and having different polarities, and the batterycell and the pair of battery cells which are connected in parallel toeach other are staked in plural and are connected in series with eachother.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is perspective views showing a battery cell according to a 1-1-thembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the battery cellaccording to FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a battery cell according to a1-2-th embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a battery cell according to a1-3-th embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a battery cell according to a1-4-th embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a battery cell according to a1-5-th embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a battery module according to a2-1-th embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the battery module according to the2-1-th embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a battery module according to a2-2-th embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the battery module according to the2-2-th embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a battery module according to a2-3-th embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing the battery module according to the2-3-th embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a battery module according to a2-4-th embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are schematic views showing a battery module accordingto the 2-4-th embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 16 and 17 are illustrative views showing a coupling between thebattery modules according to a second embodiment, of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 18 to 21 are views for describing an aspect of the presentinvention in which terminals adjacent to each other are connected toeach other using an external bus bar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Since the present invention may be variously modified and have severalembodiments, specific embodiments will be shown in the accompanyingdrawings and be described in detail. However, it is to be understoodthat the present invention is not limited to a specific embodiment, butincludes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

It is to be understood that when one element is referred to as being“connected to” or “coupled to” another element, it may be connecteddirectly to or coupled directly to another element or be connected to orcoupled to another element while having the other element interposedtherebetween.

Unless being defined otherwise, it is to be understood that all theterms used in the present specification including technical andscientific terms have the same meanings as those that are generallyunderstood by those skilled in the art.

It should be interpreted that terms defined by a generally useddictionary are identical with the meanings within the context of therelated art, and they should not be ideally or excessively formallyinterpreted unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Hereinafter, a technical spirit of the present invention will bedescribed in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings are only examples illustrated in order todescribe the technical idea of the present invention in more detail.Therefore, the technical idea of the present invention is not limited toforms of the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment: Battery Cell 1-1-th Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a battery cell 100 according to a1-1-th embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 2 is an explodedperspective view of the battery cell 100 according to FIG. 1. Referringto FIGS. 1 and 2, the battery cell 100 may include cathode terminals110, anode terminals 120, an electrode assembly 130, and external cases140.

The electrode assembly 130 may be configured such that one or morecathode plates and anode plates are disposed while having a separatorinterposed therebetween, and may be divided into a winding type in whichone cathode plate and one anode plate are wound together with theseparator, or a stacked type in which a plurality of cathode plates anda plurality of anode plates are alternately stacked while having theseparator interposed therebetween. In this case, the battery cell 100may be formed as a battery-type or pack-type primary cell or secondarycell, and may be preferably formed as a pouch type stacked secondarybattery in which the cathode terminal 110 and the anode terminal 120 areformed to be erected in a vertical direction on both sides thereofopposing each other in a horizontal direction.

In addition, the external cases 140 may be configured to include anexternal insulating layer, a metal layer, and an internal adhesivelayer, and may thus accommodate internal components such as theelectrode assembly 130, an electrolyte, and the like. In this case, inorder to improve supplementation and heat dissipation property forelectrical and chemical properties by the electrode assembly 130 and theelectrolyte, a metal thin film of aluminum type is interposed betweenthe insulating layer and the internal adhesive layer and is provided onboth sides in a stacked direction of the electrode assembly 130 toreceive the electrode assembly 130. A sealing portion may be provided onexternal circumferential surfaces of the external cases 140 to seal theexternal case 140 accommodating the electrode assembly 130. In addition,at least one of the external cases 140 may protrude in a concave shapein the stacked direction of the electrode assembly 130.

In addition, each electrode plate of the electrode assembly 130 isprovided with an electrode tab, and one or more electrode tabs mayfunction as electrode terminals of the battery cell 100 by beingconnected to the respective cathode and anode plates, interposed betweenthe sealing portions of the external case 140, and protruding outwardly.In addition, a plurality of electrode tabs 111 and 121 for eachconnecting the cathode plate or the anode plate to one surface on whichthe electrode terminals of the electrode assembly 130 are formed areformed such that the battery cell 100 may have the cathode terminals 110and the anode terminals 120 protruding externally from the external case140 in the length direction, and may have one or more selected from thecathode terminals 110 and the anode terminals 120 formed on both sidesthereof opposing each other.

In more detail, in the battery cell 100 according to the 1-1-thembodiment of the present invention, the cathode plate having thecathode tabs formed to be adjacent to one side in the length directionthereof and the anode plate having the anode tabs 121 formed to beadjacent to one side in the length direction thereof are stacked on eachother. In this case, the cathode tabs 111 of the cathode plate and theanode tabs 121 of the anode plate are stacked to have directionsopposing each other in the length direction such that a pair of cathodeterminals 110 or anode terminals 120 having the same polarity is eachformed to be adjacent to each other. Therefore, the pair of cathodeterminals 110 may be formed on one side in the length direction and thepair of anode terminals 120 may be disposed on the other side in thelength direction.

Further, the battery cell 100 may have three or more cathode terminals110 and anode terminals 120 formed on both sides thereof opposing eachother, if necessary, and unnecessary electrode terminals may be removedat the time of designing the battery module constituted by stacking thebattery cells 100. However, it is preferable that the pair of electrodeterminals 110 and 120 is formed on both sides of the battery cell 100opposing each other, respectively, so that the unnecessary electrodeterminals are not formed at the time of connecting the battery cells 100and a high degree of freedom is provided.

1-2-th Embodiment

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a battery cell 200 according to a1-2-th embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, thebattery cell 200 according to the 1-2-th embodiment of the presentinvention is configured so that a pair of cathode terminals 210 andanode terminals 220 having different polarities is formed to be adjacentto each other on both side thereof opposing each other, respectively,and is disposed to have the same polarity on both sides of the batterycell 200 opposing each other in a length direction of the battery cell200.

In this case, in the battery cell 200, a cathode plate and an anodeplate each having a pair of electrode tabs formed on both sides thereofopposing each other in the length direction are stacked on each other,and the respective cathode and anode tabs formed on the cathode plateand the anode plate may be disposed and stacked so as not to interferewith each other in the stacked direction.

1-3-th Embodiment

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a battery cell 300 according to a1-3-th embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, thebattery cell 300 according to the 1-3-th embodiment of the presentinvention is configured so that a pair of cathode terminals 310 andanode terminals 320 having different polarities is formed to be adjacentto each other on both sides thereof opposing each other, respectively,and is disposed to have different polarities on both sides of thebattery cell 300 opposing each other in a length direction of thebattery cell 300.

In this case, in the battery cell 300, a cathode plate and an anodeplate on which a pair of electrode tabs opposing each other in a cornerdirection are formed on a rectangular electrode plate are stacked oneach other. In this case, it is preferable that the stacked cathode andanode tabs are disposed and formed so as not to interfere with eachother in the stacked direction.

1-4-th and 1-5-th Embodiments

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a battery cell 400 according to a1-4-th embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 6 is a battery cell500 according to a 1-5-th embodiment of the present invention. Thebattery cells 400 and 500 according to the 1-4-th and 1-5-th embodimentsof the present invention may be configured so that a pair of cathodeterminals 410 and 510 or anode terminals 420 and 520 having the samepolarity is formed to be adjacent to each other on one side thereof andthe pair of cathode terminals 410 and 510 or anode terminals 420 and 520having different polarities is formed to be adjacent to each other onthe other side opposing the one side. In this case, the battery cells400 and 500 may be manufactured by forming and stacking a plurality ofelectrode tabs on one electrode plate to form the respective cathodeterminals 410 and 510 or anode terminals 420 and 520, or may bemanufactured by being stacked so as to form the plurality of terminalsthrough an arrangement of the electrode plate on which at least oneelectrode tab is formed in a direction in which the electrode tabprotrudes.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the battery cell 400 according to the1-4-th embodiment has a pair of cathode terminals 410 formed on one sidethereof and a pair of cathode terminal 410 and anode terminal 420 formedon the other side opposing the one side in a length direction. Since thebattery cell 4 00 according to the configuration described aboveincludes three cathode terminals 410, the degree of freedom of aconnection with other battery cells stacked to be adjacent to each othermay be increased.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, the battery cell 500 according to the1-5-th embodiment has a pair of anode terminals 520 formed on one sidethereof in a length direction and a pair of cathode terminal 510 andanode terminal 520 formed on the other side opposing the one side. Inthis case, since the battery cell 500 according to the configurationdescribed above includes three anode terminals 520, the degree offreedom of a connection with other battery cells stacked to be adjacentto each other may be increased.

Further, according to various embodiments of the present invention, aplurality of battery cells having a plurality of electrode terminalsarranged thereon may be stacked to configure one unit module, anddepending on a required specification of each unit module, the batterycell having various arrangements may be used. In this case, the batterycell has an advantage having a high degree of freedom capable ofdesigning the battery module according to a layout of the vehicle, atthe time of designing the battery module by using the battery cellshaving various directions or the arrangements of the electrode terminalsaccording to the number and capacity of the battery cells required for aunit module configured by the series or parallel connection -with theadjacent battery cell.

Second Embodiment: Battery Module

In the following, battery modules 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000constituting one stacked module using the battery cells 100, 200, 300,400, and 500 according to various embodiments of the present inventionwill be described.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, at least two battery cells 100according to the above-mentioned configuration are stacked so that abattery module 1000 in which the cathode terminals 110 and the anodeterminals 120 of the battery cells 100 adjacent to each other areelectrically connected to each other may be configured. Meanwhile, theelectrode terminals of the battery cells 100 are formed on both sidesthereof in a horizontal direction thereof in the form in which thebattery cells 100 are vertically erected on a ground so that broadsurfaces of the battery cells 100 face forward and backward directions.A direction of the battery cells 100 arranged to be stacked in theforward and backward directions is defined as a y axis, a lengthdirection of the left and right sides of the battery cells 100 isdefined as an x axis, and a height direction in which the electrodeterminals 110 and 120 are disposed to be adjacent to each other on theleft and right sides of the battery cells 100 is defined as a z axis.

Referring to FIG. 7, the battery module 1000 may be configured byarranging the broad surfaces of the battery cells 100 to face each otherin the y axis direction. In this case, the battery module 1000 has anadvantage in that various components of the battery cells 100 in thesame direction may be modularized without using a separate bus barbecause the cathode terminals 110 or the anode terminals 120 areelectrically connected to each other. In this case, the electricalconnection between the cathode terminals 110 and the anode terminals 120may electrically connect the respective battery cells 100 to each otherbecause the respective electrode terminals 110 and 120 are bent and arein contact with the electrode terminals 110 and 120 of another batterycell 100 disposed to be adjacent to the battery module 100 as shown inFIG. 7. The contacted electrode terminals 110 and 120 may be welded ormay further include a protective case (not shown) surrounding thebattery module 1000 to protect unnecessary contact between theelectrodes and damage from the outside.

According to the configuration described above, the battery module 1000according to the present invention may improve the degree of freedom ofthe stacked direction, a shape of the battery module, and the connectionof the electrodes at the time of designing the battery module 1000 byforming the plurality of electrode terminals 110 and 120 on both sidesopposing each other. Compared with an angled battery cell in which aconstant shape is required to be maintained, the battery module 1000according to the present invention has an advantage in that it may beconfigured in various forms according to the layout of the vehicle,because its shape is manufactured in various pouch type secondarybatteries.

In addition, the battery module 1000 according to the present inventionmay be configured so that a plurality of cathode terminals 110 and anodeterminals 120 are formed in directions opposing each other and thebattery cells 100 are thus connected in series with and in parallel toeach other in one direction. If necessary, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8,the battery cells 100 may be stacked in the x axis direction toconfigure the battery module 1000. In this case, the cathode terminals110 or the anode terminals 120 of the battery cells 100 connected toeach other in the x axis direction are bent and connected at apredetermined angle in directions corresponding to each other in the yaxis direction. In this case, the angle at which the electrode terminals110 and 120 are bent, is caused by a thickness of the electrodeterminals 110 and 120 and an arrangement of the battery cells 100.

In addition, the battery module 1000 may be formed by connecting thecathode terminals 110 and the anode terminals 120 formed on both sidesof the battery cell 100 in series with or in parallel to each otheraccording to the form of the electrode terminals 110 and 120 disposed onthe battery cells 100. The battery module 1000 may be configuredaccording to various combinations of the battery cells 100 according tothe embodiments of the present invention, according to the designconditions of the battery module 1000.

2-1-th Embodiment

Hereinafter, in an embodiment of the present invention, a battery modulefor manufacturing a 2P12S module formed by connecting two battery cellsrequired for a high-efficiency large-capacity electric vehicle inparallel to each other and connecting 12 sets of a pair of cellsconnected in parallel to each other in series with each other ispresented. In this case, the battery module may form various modulesaccording to a combination in which the cathode terminals and the anodeterminals formed on both sides of the battery cell opposing each otherare disposed. In the following, the battery module formed by connectingtwo battery cells in parallel to each other and connecting a pair ofbattery cells connected in parallel to each other in series with eachother will be described in detail.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a portion of the battery module1000 according to the 2-1-th embodiment of the present invention andFIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a portion of the battery module 1000according to the 2-1-th embodiment of the present invention. Referringto FIGS. 7 and 8, it is shown that the battery module 1000 is formed byforming a pair of cathode terminals 110 or anode terminals 120 havingthe same polarity on both sides of the battery cells opposing eachother, respectively, to be adjacent to each other and a pair of batterycells 100 a connected in parallel to each other with the other pair ofadjacent battery cells 100 b in series. In the FIGS. 7 and 8, the twobattery cells 100 a are connected in parallel to each other and 3 SETsof the pair of the battery cells 100 a connected in parallel to eachother are connected in series with each other. However, the presentinvention is not limited to the number of connected battery cells. It ispreferable to configure the battery module 1000 by stacking a pluralityof battery cells without departing from the gist of the presentinvention.

In this case, in order to connect the pair of battery cells 110 aconnected in parallel to each other with the other pair of adjacentbattery cells 100 b in series, the battery module 1000 stacked in onedirection may be configured by rotating the other pair of battery cells100 b disposed to be adjacent to the pair of battery cells 100 a so thata direction of the electrodes connected in series with each other is thesame as each other in a length direction (x axis) with respect to athickness direction (y axis) to invert the direction in which theelectrodes face and disposing the other pair of battery cells 100 b. Inthis case, when the battery cells 100 b are rotated in the lengthdirection (x axis) and inverted for series connection as describedabove, a direction in which the cathode plate and the anode plate arestacked according to the stacked direction of the battery cells 100 b isnot inverted. However, when the battery cells 100 b is rotated in thethickness direction (y axis) with respect to the length direction (xaxis), the direction in which the cathode plate and the anode plate arestacked is inverted, which may cause performance and safety problems. Inmore detail, when the direction in which the cathode plate and the anodeplate are stacked is changed, a movement path of negative charges movingin the battery cell may be changed. Therefore, the cathode plate and theanode plate need to have perfect symmetry with each other and theseparator interposed between the cathode plate and the anode plate maybe defective, which may cause a problem of direct connection to anexplosion of the battery.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, at the time of configuring the batterymodule 1000, since the pair of battery cells 100 a may be sufficientlyconnected in series with the other pair of adjacent battery cells 100 bonly by the connection of one cathode plate and one anode plate, it ispreferable to configure the battery module 1000 by cutting off unusedunnecessary cathode and anode terminals 110 and 120 or coveringunnecessary terminals with a protective cap.

2-2-th Embodiment

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a portion of the battery module2000 according to a 2-2-th embodiment of the present invention and FIG.10 is a schematic view showing a portion of the battery module 2000according to the 2-2-th embodiment of the present invention. Referringto FIGS. 9 and 10, it is shown that the battery module 2000 isconfigured by connecting a pair of battery cells 100 connected inparallel to each other by forming a pair of cathode terminals 110 oranode terminals 120 having the same polarity on both sides of thebattery cells opposing each other, respectively, to be adjacent to eachother with the other pair of battery cells 300 connected in parallel toeach other by forming a pair of cathode terminals 310 and anodeterminals 320 having different polarities on both sides of the batterycells opposing each other, respectively, to be adjacent to each otherand disposed to have different polarities in the length direction inseries. In this case, there is an advantage that it is not necessary toinvert the directions of the battery cells 100 and 300 in order to alignthe directions between the electrode terminals 310 and 320 of the otherpair of battery cells 300 connected in series with the pair of batterycells 100.

2-3-th Embodiment

In the 2-1-th and 2-2-th embodiments described above, one battery moduleis formed by stacking the plurality of battery cells. In this case,electrodes which are not connected to the adjacent battery cells at anend portion of the stacked direction (y axis) of the battery ceils serveas external terminals for connection in a direction different from thestacked direction (y axis) of the battery cells. In this case, in thebattery module, the terminals having the same polarity are formed onboth ends in the stacked direction (y axis) and the electrodes havingdifferent polarities are formed in the length direction (x axis) of thebattery cells. In this case, the battery modules 1000 and 2000 accordingto the 2-1-th and 2-2-th embodiments have an advantage that the batterymodules are easily connected in parallel to each other in the lengthdirection (x axis, see FIG. 16) of the battery cells. However, at thetime of series connection in which different polarities need to beconnected to each other, since the same terminals as each other areformed to face the same direction, there arises a problem that any oneof the terminals needs to be cut or insulated.

In the following, in order to solve the problem described above, abattery module in which external terminals having the same polarity inthe length direction (x axis) of the battery cells) are formed will bepresent.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a battery module according to a2-3-th embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 12 is a schematicview showing the battery module according to the 2-3-th embodiment ofthe present invention. Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, in a battery module3000 according to a 2-3-th embodiment of the present invention, a pairof battery cells 400 and 500 connected in parallel to each other havinga pair of cathode terminals 510 or anode terminals 520 formed to beadjacent, to each other on one side thereof and having the same polarityand the pair of cathode terminals 510 or the anode terminals 520 formedto be adjacent to each other on the other side opposing the one side inthe length direction and having different polarities may be connected inseries with the other pair of adjacent battery cells 400 and 500. Inthis case, the battery cells 400 and 500 may be disposed to have onlyone electrode terminal 420 and 510 having different polarities and mayhave the electrode terminals having the same polarity disposed in thecorresponding direction, and the other pair of battery cells 400 and 500connected in series with each other may be disposed so that theelectrode terminals having different polarities correspond to eachother, thereby making it possible to perform a consistent modularizationprocess.

2-4-th Embodiment

As another aspect of the present invention, in the following, a batterymodule 4000 forming a 3P8S module by connecting three battery cells inparallel to each other and connecting 8 sets of the three battery ceilsconnected in parallel to each other in series with each other will be

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a battery module according to a2-4-th embodiment of the present invention and FIGS. 14 and 15 areschematic views showing the battery module according to the 2-4-thembodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 13 to 15, abattery module 4000 according to a 2-4-th embodiment of the present,invention includes battery cell 100 having a pair of cathode terminals110 or anode terminals 120 formed to be adjacent to each, other on bothsides opposing each other in the length direction and having the samepolarity, and a pair of battery cells 400 and 500 stacked on both sidesin the stacked direction of the battery cell 100, connected in parallelto the battery cell 100, and having a pair of cathode terminals 410 and510 or anode terminals 420 and 520 formed to be adjacent to each otheron one side and having the same polarity and a pair of cathode terminals410 and 510 or anode terminals 420 and 520 formed to be adjacent to eachother on the other side opposing the one side and having differentpolarities, wherein the battery cell 100 and the pair of battery cells400 and 500 which are connected in parallel to each other are stacked inplural and are connected in series with each other to configure thebattery module 4000.

In this case, the battery module 4000 may include a battery module 4000a in which the battery cells are connected in parallel to each other inthe order of 500-100-400 as shown in FIG. 14, and a battery module 4000b in which the battery cells are connected in parallel to each other inthe order of 400-100-500 as shown in FIG. 15. Here, the battery module4000 a and the battery module 4000 b are manufactured in a shape inwhich the direction of the electrode terminals forming the externalterminals is inverted. Since the external terminals of the batterymodules 3000 and 4000 according to the 2-3-th and 2-4-th embodimentshave different polarities formed on both ends in the stacked direction(y axis), there rises a problem that the direction in which the cathodeplate and the anode plate are stacked is inverted in order to invert thepolarities of the external electrodes. Therefore, two battery modules4000 a and 4000 b having an inverted electrode direction of the externalelectrodes may be manufactured by changing the order of the batterycells 400 and 500 connected in parallel to each other.

Further, without departing from the scope of the present invention, inthe battery module according to the present invention, a single batterymodule may be formed by connecting a plurality of battery cellsconnected in parallel to each other in series with each other. Morespecifically, at least two or more battery cells are stacked such thatthe cathode terminals or anode terminals adjacent to each other andhaving the same polarity are connected in parallel to each other, atleast two or more battery cells connected in parallel to each other arestacked in plural, and the other of a plurality of stacked at least twoor more battery cells connected in parallel to each other stacked to beadjacent to one of the plurality of stacked at least two or more batterycells connected in parallel to each other has the cathode terminals andanode terminals adjacent to each other being connected in series witheach other, thereby making it possible to configure various standards ofbattery modules.

FIGS. 16 and 17 are illustrative view showing a coupling between thebattery modules according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 16 shows series and parallel connections of the batterymodules in which the electrode terminals forming the external electrodesformed on both end portions of the battery cells in the stackeddirection according to the 2-4-th embodiment have different polaritiesin the stacked direction (y axis) and the length direction (x axis) ofthe battery cells. In this case, a plurality of battery cells may bestacked in a Y axis direction to form, a plurality of unit modules 4000a, and the respective unit modules 4000 a may be stacked to be adjacentto each other in an X axis or Y axis direction to configure to thebattery module.

Section-A

A section-A in FIG. 16 shows that the unit modules 4000 a are connectedin series with each other in the stacked direction of the battery cells.Here, the cathode terminal 410 and the anode terminal 520 havingdifferent polarities are connected to each other, such that the unitmodule 4000 a may be connected in series with the other unit module 4000a stacked to be adjacent to thereto in the Y axis direction.

Section-B

A section-B in FIG. 16 shows that the unit modules 4000 a are connectedin series with each other in the length direction (X axis) of thebattery cells. Here, the cathode terminal 410 and the anode terminal 520having different polarities are connected to each other, such that theunit module 4000 a may be connected in series with the other unit module4000 b stacked to be adjacent to thereto in the X axis direction. Inthis case, the unit module 4000 a is configured such that the batterycells are connected in parallel to each other in the order of500-100-400 and the unit module 4000 b is configured such that thebattery cells are connected in parallel to each other in the order of400-100-500. In order for the electrode terminals forming the externalterminals facing each other in the X axis direction to have the cathodeterminals 410 and the anode terminals 520 having the differentpolarities, the unit modules 4000 a and 4000 b connected in series witheach other may be preferably connected to each other using a pair ofunit modules 4000 a and 4000 b in which the direction of the electrodeterminals of the external terminals has the inverted shape so that theexternal terminals form different polarities on both ends in the stackeddirection (y axis).

Section-C

A section-C in FIG. 16 shows that the unit modules 4000 a are connectedin parallel to each other in the stacked direction of the battery cells.Here, the cathode terminal 410 and the anode terminal 520 having thesame polarity are connected to each other, such that the unit module4000 a may be connected in parallel to the other unit module 4000 astacked to be adjacent to thereto in the Y axis direction.

As described above, the battery module configured in the combination ofthe battery cells according to the present invention may be variouslymodified in accordance with a designed regulation, and has an advantagethat the battery module may be freely connected in a length directionand a thickness direction of the battery module.

When it is difficult to directly connect the electrode terminals to eachother, the battery cells may be connected to each other in series and inparallel using an external bus bar, if necessary, as shown in FIGS. 18to 21. According to the present invention, the electrode terminals ofthe battery cells forming the battery module may be connected to eachother, and the connection between the electrode terminals of the batterycells according to the present invention may be variously modifiedwithout departing from the scope of the present invention.

In this case, the battery cells according to the present invention hasan advantage that since the battery cell includes the plurality ofelectrode terminals, the battery cells are connected in series with eachother through the contact between the electrode terminals adjacent toeach other by inverting the battery cells in a height direction forseries connection as shown in FIG. 19B, FIG. 20B, and FIG. 21B, suchthat the electrode terminals adjacent to each other may be connected toeach other without using a separate bus bar.

In the battery cell according to the present invention having theconfiguration described above, since various forms of configurations ofthe battery module may be applied according to the layout of the vehicleby forming the plurality of electrodes on both sides opposing each otherto improve the degree of freedom of the connection of the battery cells,the cells may be connected in series with or in parallel to each otheronly by the connection of the electrodes. Since the separate bus bar isnot included, the resistance value according to the connection of theelectrodes may be lowered to develop a high efficiency battery module.Since a consistent work process for connecting the batteries isperformed, a process quality of the conventional battery module may beimproved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments,and may be variously applied, and may be variously modified withoutdeparting from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF MAIN ELEMENTS

-   1000, 2000, 3000, 4000: battery module-   100, 200, 300, 400, 500: battery cell-   110, 210, 310, 410, 510: cathode terminal-   120, 220, 320, 420, 520: anode terminal-   130, 230, 330, 430, 530: electrode assembly-   140, 240, 340, 440, 540: external case

What is claimed is:
 1. A battery cell having electrode terminalsincluding cathode terminals and anode terminals protruding to theoutside, the battery cell comprising: a plurality of electrode terminalsselected from the cathode terminals or the anode terminals and formed onboth sides of the battery cell opposing each other.
 2. The battery cellof claim 1, wherein the battery cell has a plurality of cathodeterminals or anode terminals formed to be adjacent to each other on bothsides of the battery cell opposing to each other, respectively, andhaving the same polarity.
 3. The battery cell of claim 1, wherein thebattery cell has a. pair of cathode terminals and anode terminals formedto be adjacent to each other on both sides of the battery cell opposingto each other, respectively, and having different polarities.
 4. Thebattery cell of claim 3, wherein cathode terminal and anode terminalsformed on both sides of the battery cell opposing each other aredisposed to have different polarities in a length direction of thebattery cell.
 5. The battery cell of claim 1, wherein the cathodeterminals and the anode terminals formed on both sides of the batterycell opposing each other are disposed to have the same polarity in alength direction of the batter cell.
 6. The battery cell of claim 1,wherein the battery cell has a pair of cathode terminals or anodeterminals formed to be adjacent to each other on one side of the batterycell and having the same polarity, and has a pair of cathode terminalsand anode terminals formed to be adjacent to each other on the otherside opposing the one side and having different polarities.
 7. A batterymodule using the battery cell of any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein thebattery module is formed by stacking two or more battery cells, and thecathode terminals or the anode terminals adjacent to at least two ormore battery cells are electrically connected to each other.
 8. Thebattery module of claim 7, wherein a plurality of cathode terminals oranode terminals having the same polarity are formed to be adjacent toeach other on both sides of the battery cells opposing each other,respectively, such that the number the groups of the plurality ofbattery cells connected in parallel to each other is plural and thegroups of the plurality of battery cells connected in parallel to eachother are connected in series with each other.
 9. The battery module ofclaim 7, wherein a plurality of battery cells having the pair of cathodeterminals or anode terminals formed to be adjacent to each other on bothsides of the battery cells opposing each other, respectively, and havingthe same polarity, and connected in parallel to each other is connectedin series with the other pair of battery cells having the pair ofcathode terminals and anode terminals formed to be adjacent to eachother on both sides of the battery cells opposing each other,respectively, having different polarities, and disposed to havedifferent polarities in the length direction, and connected in parallelto each other.
 10. The battery module of claim 7, wherein the pair ofcathode terminals or anode terminals having the same polarity as eachother are formed, to be adjacent to each other on one side of thebattery cells and the pair of cathode terminals and anode terminalshaving different polarities are formed to be adjacent to each other onthe other side opposing the one side, such that the number the groups ofthe plurality of battery cells connected in parallel to each other isplural and the groups of the plurality of battery cells connected inparallel to each other are connected in series with each other.
 11. Thebattery module of claim 7, wherein the battery module includes: abattery cell having the pair of cathode terminals or anode terminalsformed to be adjacent to each other on both sides of the battery cellopposing each other and having the same polarity; and a pair of batterycells stacked on both sides of the battery cell in forward and backwarddirections, connected in parallel to the battery cell, and having thepair of cathode terminals or anode terminals formed to be adjacent toeach other on one side of the battery cell and having the same polarity,and the pair of cathode terminals and anode terminals formed to beadjacent to each other on the other side opposing the one side andhaving different polarities, and the battery cell and the pair ofbattery cells which are connected in parallel to each other are stakedin plural and are connected in series with each other.